Ibn Hajar's Commentary on the Hadith of
Descent

Ibn Hajar says the following in his commentary
on the hadith of Bukhari and Muslim on Allah's
"descent" to the lowest heaven:

Those who assert direction for Allah have used
this hadith as proof that He is in the direction of aboveness.
The vast majority of the scholars (al-jumhur) reject this,
because such a saying leads to establishing boundaries for Him
and Allah is exalted above that.

The meaning of "descent" is
interpreted differently:

Some say that the external meaning is
meant literally: these are the Mushabbiha and Allah is
exalted above what they say.

Some reject the validity of the hadiths
cited in that chapter altogether. These are the Khawarij
and the Mu`tazila and they display arrogance. What is
strange is that they interpret figuratively what is
related to this in the Qur'an, but they reject what is in
the hadith either out of ignorance or out of obstinacy.

Some have taken them as they have come,
believing in them without specificity, declaring Allah to
be transcendent above modality (kayfiyya) and
likeness to creation (tashbih): these are the vast
majority of the Salaf. That position is reported by
Bayhaqi and others from the Four Imams, Sufyan ibn
`Uyayna, Sufyan al-Thawri, Hammad ibn Salama, Hammad ibn
Zayd, al-Awza`i, al-Layth, and others.

Some interpreted them in a way that befits
the linguistic usage of the Arabs.

Some have over-interpreted them to the
point that they almost tampered with their text.

Some have made a difference between a kind
of interpretation that is likely and current in the
linguistic usage of the Arabs, and another kind which is
far-fetched and archaic, interpreting in the former case
and committing the meaning to Allah in the latter. This
is reported from Malik, and among the Khalaf it is
asserted decisively by Ibn Daqiq al-`Id (d. 702).

[Ibn Hajar reports Ibn Daqiq al-`Id's words in
full elsewhere: "We say concerning the various attributes
that they are real and true according to the meaning Allah wills
for them. As for those who interpret them, we look at their
interpretation: if it is close to the rules of language in use
among the Arabs we do not reject it, and if it is far from them
we relinquish it and return to believing while declaring
transcendence."]

Bayhaqi said: "The safest method is to
believe in them without modality, and to keep silence concerning
what is meant except if the explanation is conveyed from the
Prophet himself, in which case it is followed." The proof
for this is the agreement of the scholars that the specific
interpretation is not obligatory, and that therefore the
commitment of meaning to Allah is safest...

Ibn al-`Arabi al-Maliki said:

"It is reported that the innovators have
rejected these hadiths, the Salaf let them pass as they came, and
others interpreted them, and my position is the last one. The
saying: "He descends" refers to His acts not His
essence, indeed it is an expression for His angels who descend
with His command and His prohibition. And just as descent can
concern bodies, it can also concern ideas or spiritual notions (ma`ani).
If one takes the hadith to refer to a physical occurrence,
then descent would be the attribute of the angel sent to carry
out an order. If one takes it to refer to a spiritual occurrence,
that is, first He did not act, then He acted: this would be
called a descent from one rank to another, and this is a sound
Arabic meaning."

In sum it is interpreted in two ways: the first
is: His command or His angel descends; the second is: it is a
metaphor for His regard for supplicants, His answering them, and
so forth.

Abu Bakr ibn Furak has said that some of the
masters have read it yunzilu (He sends down) instead of yanzilu
(He descends), that is: He sends down an angel. This is
strengthened by Nisa'i's narration through al-Aghurr from Abu
Hurayra and Abu Sa`id al-Khudri: "Allah waits until the
first part of the night is over, then He orders a herald to say:
Is there anyone supplicating so that he may be answered?..."
There is also the hadith of `Uthman ibn Abi al-`As: "The
gates of heaven are opened in the middle of the night and a
herald calls out: Is there anyone supplicating so that he may be
answered?..." Al-Qurtubi said: "This clears all
ambiguity, and there is no interference by the narration of
Rufa`at al-Jahni whereby "Allah descends to the nearest
heaven and says: No-one other than I asks about My servants"
for there is nothing in this which precludes the above-mentioned
interpretation.

Al-Baydawi said:

"Since it is established with decisive
proofs that the Exalted is transcendent above having a body or
being circumscribed by boundaries, it is forbidden to attribute
to Him descent in the sense of displacement from one place to
another place lower than it. What is meant is the light of His
mercy: that is, He moves from what is pursuant to the attribute
of Majesty entailing wrath and punishment, to what is pursuant to
the attribute of Generosity entailing kindness and
mercy.""

Let us turn to the two footnotes appended by
Bin Baz to Ibn Hajar's words here, because they are indicative of
his entire approach to this landmark of Muslim scholarship. It is
a remarkable fact that his supposed commentary of Fath al-bari
is actually a rampant evisceration of the doctrine of Ahl
al-Sunna and its replacement under the same name by that of
anthropomorphism. This is particularly flagrant in the aspersions
of which most of the "commentary" consists when it
comes to hadiths touching on the attributes. For example, when
Ibn Hajar mentions that "the vast majority of the
scholars" reject the assertion of a direction for Allah, Bin
Baz inserts the following footnote:

What he means by "the vast majority of the
scholars" is the vast majority of the scholars of kalam.
As for Ahl al-Sunna -- and these are the Companions and those who
followed them in excellence -- they assert a direction for Allah,
and that is the direction of elevation, believing that the
Exalted is above the Throne without giving an example and without
entering into modality. The proofs from the Qur'an and the Sunna
for this are innumerable, so take heed and beware. And Allah
knows best.

We have taken note of this statement and we let
the readers decide for themselves whether a single one of the
above statements is true, other than that Allah knows best. We
also take note of Bin Baz's indiscriminate expulsion of all kalam
scholars from the fold of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a by his
separating them into two discrete groups. Kalam scholars
include Ash`aris, and we have already shown who they are so that
it is clear that their enemies are none other than the enemies of
Islam. As to the heresy of those who attribute a direction to
Allah, we refer the reader to the section further down where the
position of Ahl al-Sunna is stated concerning them.

Bin Baz's reaction to the quotation of Ibn
al-`Arabi's position ("It is reported that the innovators
have rejected these hadiths, the Salaf let them pass as they
came, and others interpreted them, and my position is the last
one") is particularly virulent:

This is an obvious mistake which goes against
the plain import of the texts that have come to us concerning the
descent, and likewise what is cited of Baydawi later is null and
void. The correct position is that of the Pious Salaf who
believed in the descent and let pass the texts as they came to
them, asserting Allah's descent in the sense that befits Him,
without asking how nor giving an example, just as the rest of His
attributes. That is the safest, straightest, most knowledgeable,
and wisest way. Therefore hold on to it, cling to it stubbornly,
and beware what contravenes it so that you may reach safety. And
Allah knows best.

We have already mentioned that the Salaf did
apply interpretation in many places and therefore it cannot be
"an obvious mistake" to interpret the hadiths of the
attributes. We have also mentioned al-Khattabi's, al-`Izz ibn
`Abd al-Salam, al-Nawawi's, and al-Subki's prudent explanations
whereby interpretation is an obligation in the face of
innovations that thrive on dubiousness, such as tajsim,
with which the Salaf did not have to deal in the way that the
Khalaf experienced. There is no better illustration of the
soundness of their rulings than Bin Baz's blatant declaration
that Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a attribute a direction to Allah.
Here now is the actual position of Ahl al-Sunna concerning those
who attribute a direction to Allah.